Zacks Research Upgrades Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) to “Strong-Buy”

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Carvana in a report on Friday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Carvana from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 target price on shares of Carvana in a research note on Friday. Argus reduced their target price on Carvana from $500.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their price target on shares of Carvana from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.14.

Carvana Price Performance

Shares of Carvana stock opened at $69.68 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 4.09, a quick ratio of 2.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.39, a PEG ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 3.45. Carvana has a 1-year low of $54.46 and a 1-year high of $97.38.

Carvana (NYSE:CVNA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The company reported $1.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.32 by $1.37. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.12 billion. Carvana had a net margin of 6.40% and a return on equity of 41.46%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Carvana will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Stephen R. Palmer sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.42, for a total value of $352,100.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 152,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,771,091.10. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Benjamin E. Huston sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.97, for a total value of $3,098,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 464,620 shares in the company, valued at $28,793,430.64. This trade represents a 9.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 386,287 shares of company stock worth $27,022,696 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 15.19% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Carvana

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CVNA. First Horizon Corp boosted its position in Carvana by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 418 shares of the company’s stock valued at $176,000 after buying an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finivi Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Carvana by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Finivi Inc. now owns 698 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,000 after buying an additional 31 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Carvana by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,190 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,346,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Carvana by 1.7% in the second quarter. Gilder Gagnon Howe & Co. LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the company’s stock valued at $622,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Insigneo Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Carvana by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Insigneo Advisory Services LLC now owns 696 shares of the company’s stock worth $294,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 56.71% of the company’s stock.

About Carvana

Carvana Co is an online-only retailer of used vehicles that operates a consumer-facing e-commerce platform for buying and selling cars. The company markets and sells inspected, reconditioned pre-owned vehicles through its website, where shoppers can browse inventory, view detailed 360-degree photos and vehicle history reports, finance purchases, and arrange delivery or pickup. Carvana’s model is built around a digital end-to-end car buying experience that aims to simplify vehicle transactions compared with traditional dealerships.

Its products and services include direct retail sales of used cars, trade-in and purchase offers for consumer vehicles, vehicle financing and related protection products, and a seven-day return policy that allows customers to test a vehicle in everyday use.